12/22 Yule log, Skagit salmon, SnoCo and Tulalip Tribe grants, BC cryptocurrency mining, Howard Danson Dam fish passage

Yule log

Yule log
The custom of the Yule Log spread all over Europe and different kinds of wood are used in different countries. In England, Oak is traditional; in Scotland, it is Birch; while in France, it's Cherry. Also, in France, the log is sprinkled with wine, before it is burnt, so that it smells nice when it is lit.

Did salmon actually use the Skagit River before the Seattle dams were built?
Seattle City Light, which has had a monopoly on energy in the city since 1951, has argued that the fish never accessed the stretches of the river where its dams and reservoirs now stand, at least not in significant numbers, and that because of this, the utility should not be required to take on the major infrastructure work of adding fish passage. However, a chorus of people, from federal agencies to tribal nations and their biologists, have offered up formidable evidence to the contrary, citing historical records, tribal histories and research, federal agency findings — even newspaper stories from the time the dams were being constructed in the early 1920s — which suggest fish did ascend the river, and that today they may need access to that habitat in order to survive. Rico Moore reports.  (High Country News)

Tulalip Tribes, Snohomish County receive grants for coastal preservation
Earlier this month, the county Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Tulalip Tribes both received grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resilience Fund...Snohomish County received $5.85 million from the program, to be supplemented with $2.1 million of county funds, said department spokesperson Meghan Jordan. The funds will go towards restoring salmon habitat along a 1 ½-mile stretch of the Snohomish River at Thomas’ Eddy, 5 miles south of Snohomish. On the Tulalip Reservation, tribal leaders will use the $366,000 received from the grant to study methods for warding off the worst impacts of ever-rising sea levels and intensifying storms. Riley Haun reports. (Everett Herald)

B.C. suspends new cryptocurrency mining requests over power, environmental concerns
B.C.'s provincial government says it won't be taking new requests to hook up cryptocurrency mining operations to the electrical grid for 18 months. The pause is aimed at giving the government time to assess how the industry is affecting the province's economic and environmental goals. (CBC)

Washington Dam Fish Passage Construction Advances
A long-planned project to build a fish passage facility on the Howard A. Hanson Dam is advancing with new funding. It would reopen more than 100 miles of western Washington state’s Green River for salmon spawning and rearing. The Water Resources Development Act, which the U.S. Senate passed this month after lawmakers reached an agreement with their House colleagues, authorizes $878.5 million for the dam project. James Leggate reports. (Engineering News-Record)

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  417 AM PST Thu Dec 22 2022   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  E wind 25 to 35 kt. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. NW swell 2 ft  at 14 seconds. A slight chance of snow in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  E wind 25 to 35 kt. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. W swell 2 ft  at 19 seconds becoming N at 18 seconds after midnight. Snow in  the evening then rain after midnight.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told